Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Hassan Mushaima

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2023 to Question 6366 on Hassan Mushaima, on what date he last had discussions with (a) the Government of Bahrain and (b) oversight bodies on his (i) medical care and (ii) release.

David Rutley: The FCDO continues to follow the case of Hasan Mushaima and discuss with the Government of Bahrain and oversight bodies. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, discussed Mushaima's case with Foreign Minister Al Zayani on 3 July 2023. We also encourage those with specific concerns to raise them directly with the appropriate Bahraini oversight body.

Israel: Palestinians

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Israel on the location of the four Palestinian health workers who have been detained since 22 November 2023.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are aware of reports over Israeli detention practices. We are particularly concerned over reports about Israel's extensive use of administrative detention, which should be used only where it is justified in accordance with international law. Those under detention should either be charged or released. The UK is committed to working with Israel to secure improvements in its detention practices and repeatedly calls on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law. This has been repeatedly raised by both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary with Prime Minister Netanyahu. The safety of humanitarian personnel and healthcare workers in Gaza is critical to enable aid to reach those who need it most. The FCDO is actively engaging with international partners and those operating on the ground to do all we can to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Nagorno-Karabakh: Security

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to help support security in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Leo Docherty: I underlined the UK's support for the sovereignty and security of the region during a visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan in November. The UK has urged the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to engage meaningfully in joint and internationally-mediated negotiations to conclude a final peace settlement. We welcomed the two countries' historic joint statement of 7 December, in which important confidence-building measures were announced, aimed at reaching an historic agreement and securing lasting peace for the region.

Development Aid: Climate Change

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the Written Statement of 17 October 2023 on International Climate Finance, HCWS1071, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the reclassification of climate finance on the proportion of international climate finance provided by the UK in the form of (a) loans and (b) other non-grant instruments.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: All UK International Climate Finance (ICF) continues to be Official Development Assistance. In line with the historical average of 85% set out in the Written Statement, the vast majority of UK ICF continues to be provided through grants.

Armed Conflict: White Phosphorus

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make it his policy to advocate for an international ban on the use of white phosphorus in conflicts.

Leo Docherty: It is not UK policy to advocate for an international ban on the use of white phosphorous. White phosphorous is an obscurant and may have legitimate military uses, for example in smoke grenades, decoy and countermeasure equipment and signalling flares. However, all parties to an armed conflict must ensure that their conduct and use of weapons complies with International Humanitarian Law.

Department of Health and Social Care

Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board: Dental Services

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much and what proportion of the grant provided to Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board for NHS dental care remains unspent as of 19 December 2023; and what her Department's policy is on the use of unspent grant money to cover wider budget shortfalls.

Andrea Leadsom: We are investing £3 billion a year into dentistry and are working hard to improve access to care.NHS England’s guidance for Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) requires dental allocations to be ringfenced in the 2023/24 financial year, with any unused resources re-directed to improve NHS dental access in the first instance and not spent on other services. In November 2023, NHS England confirmed that where ICBs had not spent all their allocation on improving access to dentistry, they would be able to retain any underspend and use this to balance their bottom line and any other pressures. ICBs will decide how to use any forecast underspend in line with this guidance.We are currently considering arrangements for 2024/25.The information requested on how much of the funding allocated to Mid and South Essex ICB for National Health Service dentistry remains unspent is not held centrally.

Lisdexamfetamine

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of supplies of Elvanse 30mg ADHD medication.

Andrew Stephenson: Disruptions to the supply of medicines used for the management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), including lisdexamfetamine (Elvanse), have been primarily driven by issues which have resulted in capacity constraints at key manufacturing sites. The Department has been working closely with the respective manufacturers and some issues have now been resolved. Regarding Elvanse 30 milligram capsules, resupplies of this specific product are expected in late January 2024. However, we know that there continue to be disruptions to the supply of some other Elvanse products, which should resolve by April 2024.

Sepsis: Death

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an estimate of the number of deaths from sepsis in each of the last five years.

Maria Caulfield: The Office for National Statistics publishes the number of death registrations where sepsis is mentioned anywhere on the death certificate in England and Wales. The number of deaths registered where sepsis was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate in England and Wales in each of the last five years was 23,089 in 2018, 21,458 in 2019, 19,324 in 2020, 21,947 in 2021, and 25,542 in 2022.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has he made of the potential reasons for the increase in people accessing alcohol support services post-covid.

Andrea Leadsom: There are several potential reasons for the 2% increase in people attending alcohol-only treatment in 2022/23, the period for which the most recent data is available.In December 2021, the Government published its landmark 10-year drug strategy, backed by record funding. Although the primary focus of the strategy is drugs, commissioning and delivery of drug and alcohol treatment services are integrated in England. This means that implementation of the strategy is also benefitting people seeking alcohol treatment, through mechanisms such as new commissioning standards and plans to build back the workforce. £532 million of additional funding is being invested in local authority commissioned substance misuse treatment services in England between 2022/23 and 2024/25, to increase the number of people in substance misuse treatment by 54,500 over this period.Additionally, the 2021 Public Health England publication, Monitoring alcohol consumption and harm during the COVID-19 pandemic, found that increases in alcohol consumption since the beginning of the pandemic tended to be among people who were already heavy drinkers before this period. This report is available at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60f01076d3bf7f568a2d93e3/Alcohol_and_COVID_report.pdf

Gambling: Football Pools

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her Department's publication entitled Gambling-related harms evidence review: quantitative analysis, updated on 11 January 2023, what methodologies were used to gather data on Football Pools.

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her Department's publication entitled Gambling-related harms evidence review: quantitative analysis, updated on 11 January 2023, what definition of pools betting her Department used during the evidence gathering process; and which gambling activities were labelled as pools betting.

Andrea Leadsom: The Gambling-related harms evidence review: quantitative analysis has not been updated since original publication on 30 September 2019. The Health Survey for England (2012, 2015, 2016 and 2018) was used as the primary dataset for this review and analysis was carried out on this four-year combined and weighted dataset. Information on methods for data collection for the Health Survey for England is available at the following link:http://healthsurvey.hscic.gov.uk/support-guidance/public-health/health-survey-for-england-2018/introduction.aspxThe Health Survey for England asks whether survey respondents have participated in several different types gambling activities, and is included in the quantitative analysis which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gambling-related-harms-evidence-reviewGambling activities were not specifically labelled as ‘pools betting’.

Food: Advertising

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to implement (a) a 9.00pm watershed ban on TV junk food advertising and (b) a ban on paid-for advertising of less healthy foods on online media.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government legislated to further restrict advertising of less healthy food through the Health and Care Act 2022. This includes introducing a 9pm TV watershed for advertising products high in fat, salt or sugar and a restriction of paid-for advertising of these products online, across the United Kingdom. This will come into force on 1 October 2025.

Ministry of Justice

Werrington Young Offender Institution

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Report on an unannounced inspection of HMYOI Werrington by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons 31 July to 11 August 2023, published on 21 November 2023, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the report's findings on (a) the proportion of children surveyed who reported feeling unsafe and (b) the effect of the number of keep apart instructions.

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Report on an unannounced inspection of HMYOI Werrington by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons 31 July to 11 August 2023, published on 21 November 2023, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of that Report's finding that there were long delays in referring allegations of abuse to the local authority designated officer.

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Report on an unannounced inspection of HMYOI Werrington by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons 31 July to 11 August 2023, published on 21 November 2023, what steps he is taking to improve outcomes in (a) education, (b) safety, (c) care, (d) purposeful activity and (e) resettlement at HMYOI Werrington.

Edward Argar: HM Prison & Probation Service conducts an extensive programme of audits and surveys to provide senior leaders with an overview of prison delivery in key areas: this, in turn, informs policy review and development across the secure estate. Findings from external scrutiny processes – in particular, inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons – similarly inform policy development.All actions being taken in relation to HM Inspectorate’s recommendations following the inspection of HMYOI Werrington can be found in the action plan at the following link:HMYOI-Werrrington-Action-Plan-2023.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk).

Cookham Wood Young Offender Institution

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Report on an unannounced inspection of HMYOI Cookham Wood, 4–20 April 2023, published on 18 July 2023 what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of that Report's findings that (a) staff did not have confidence in their leadership team and (b) their morale was very low.

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Report on an unannounced inspection of HMYOI Cookham Wood, 4–20 April 2023, published on 18 July 2023, what steps he is taking to improve outcomes in (a) education, (b) safety, (c) care, (d) purposeful activity and (e) resettlement at HMYOI Cookham Wood.

Edward Argar: HM Prison & Probation Service conducts an extensive programme of audits and surveys to provide senior leaders with an overview of prison delivery in key areas: this, in turn, informs policy review and development across the secure estate. Findings from external scrutiny processes – in particular, inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons – similarly inform policy development. All actions being taken in relation to HM Inspectorate’s recommendations following the inspection of HMYOI Cookham Wood can be found in the action plan at the following link:Urgent Notification for HMYOI Cookham Wood - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Special Educational Needs: Tribunals

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for special educational needs and disability tribunal hearings.

Mike Freer: We have appointed more judges and panel members to the SEND jurisdiction. We have also increased sittings in SEND from just over 12,000 sitting days in 2019/20 to over 18,500 last year. As a result, we have increased the volume of appeals we have disposed of from just over 8,000 in 2021/22 to nearly 11,000 in 2022/13.

Courts and Tribunals

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to tackle court and tribunal backlogs.

Mike Freer: The pandemic and barristers’ disruptive action created a significant challenge for our courts, but we are working hard to reduce outstanding caseloads across all jurisdictions.Thanks to our investment in judicial recruitment, we expect to recruit over 1,000 judges this financial year across all jurisdictions.We are investing £220 million for essential modernisation and repair work in our court buildings over the next two years.We also continue work to maximise the capacity of the tribunals, aided by a new electronic case management system.

Treatment of, and Outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Individuals in the Criminal Justice System Independent Review

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish a report on the recent progress his Department has made on implementing the recommendations in the Lammy Review, published on 8 September 2017.

Mike Freer: In the coming Spring, the Government will again update Parliament regarding the work of the Inclusive Britain Strategy, as it did in April this year. As we work towards this, we are also considering what further updates may be provided from the Ministry of Justice regarding our work to tackle racial disparities in the Criminal Justice System, including the work we committed to in response to the Lammy Review.

Legal Ombudsman

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the change in the time limit for referring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman about legal services, which came into effect from 1 April 2023, on consumers.

Mike Freer: Under the Legal Services Act 2007, the legal profession in England and Wales, together with its regulators, operate independently of government. The oversight regulator for the legal services sector is the Legal Services Board (LSB). The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) is the board responsible for administering the Legal Ombudsman Scheme. The OLC sets the strategy and business plan for the Scheme, as well as scrutinising its performance. Since the changes to the Legal Ombudsman’s rules regarding the time limit for referring complaints, the Ministry of Justice has not made an assessment of the potential impact this may have on consumers. However, the OLC carried out an assessment of the potential impacts of the rule changes in its consultation in 2022. It predicted that although around 30% of complaints may fall outside the new time limit, this would be mitigated by a separate rule change which allows an Ombudsman to exercise discretion and extend the time limit for specific customers, if fair and reasonable to do so. Overall, it predicted a positive impact on consumer journey times, allowing for a quicker handling and prioritisation of cases which require Ombudsman decision, as well as having the potential to remove the duplication of work or proportion of Legal Ombudsman complaints. The MoJ monitors the ongoing performance of the Scheme and the impact of the rule changes through the regular assurance letters provided by the OLC to the LSB. In an assurance letter provided to the LSB on 7 August 2023, the OLC stated that the impacts of the new Scheme rules on customer experience will continue to be monitored.

Treasury

Government Securities

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money his Department has sent the Bank of England to cover its losses on bonds in the 2023-24 financial year to date.

Bim Afolami: So far in financial year 2023-24, HM Treasury has transferred £33,196 million to the Bank of England to cover losses arising from the Asset Purchase Facility in line with the indemnity provided by HM Treasury. This covers losses incurred from net interest costs and the sale and redemption of bonds. Data on these quarterly cash transfers between HM Treasury and the Bank of England are made publicly available by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in their monthly Public Sector Finances publication. The data is available at the following link under the ONS series ID MF7A in worksheet PSA9B: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance/datasets/publicsectorfinancesappendixatables110

Individual Savings Accounts: First Time Buyers

Catherine West: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Lifetime ISAs for helping first-time buyers in London.

Catherine West: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of reducing the penalty charge to 20% for people (a) with Lifetime ISAs and (b) whose first property costs more than £450,000.

Conor McGinn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Lifetime ISAs for helping first-time buyers in (a) Merseyside (b) St Helens.

Bim Afolami: The Government is committed to supporting people of all incomes and at all stages of life to save, and to making the aspiration of home ownership a reality for as many households as possible. The Lifetime ISA is intended to support younger people saving for their first home or for later life by offering a generous government bonus of 25% on up to £4,000 of savings each year. These funds, including the government bonus, can be used to purchase a first home up to the value of £450,000. The Government remains of the view that the property price cap is set at an appropriate level to support most first-time buyers across the UK while targeting households that may find it most difficult to get onto the property ladder. The withdrawal charge is needed to protect the LISA’s status as a long-term savings product. Reducing this and would encourage the use of LISAs in ways for which they were not intended. The Government does not undertake an assessment of the effectiveness of the LISA by region, however the Government regularly publishes annual savings statistics, which includes information on the LISA. (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-savings-statistics-2022) The Government will continue to keep all aspects of savings tax policy under review and considers all representations made carefully, with any changes made as part of the Budget process.

Public Sector: Productivity

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative estimate he has made of the cost of delivering public services due to changes in productivity levels in the 2019-20 and 2023-24 financial years.

Laura Trott: Efficiency and productivity are at the heart of the government’s approach to public spending. In June, the Chancellor announced1 a major public sector productivity programme across all government departments, and set out that if productivity growth in the public sector increased by 0.5% a year, we would stabilise the proportion of GDP consumed by the state by closing the gap between anticipated growth and anticipated spending up to 2050. No comparative estimate has been made of the cost of delivering public services based on historic changes in productivity.

Government Departments: Cost Effectiveness

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent progress his Department has made on implementing the Government Efficiency Framework; and if he will make an estimate of the impact of that framework on costs to the public purse (i) so far and (ii) in each of the next three financial years.

Laura Trott: All departments are expected to use the framework to measure and categorise efficiencies. The framework aims to standardise and simplify definitions and processes across the finance function, building on work already being done by departments as part of business as usual budgeting and financial management processes. As such, we do not expect there to be any direct implementation costs.

Government Departments: Cost Effectiveness

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he plans to take to reduce costs across Government departments in each of the next five years; and what estimate he has made of the resulting annual savings, by department.

Laura Trott: Spending Review 2021 set UK Government Departmental budgets for the rest of this Parliament (up to 2024-25). Individual Departmental budgets beyond 2024-25 will be set at the next Spending Review. To control spending and reduce debt in accordance with the fiscal rules, the government is maintaining a consistent focus on tackling productivity across the public sector. I am leading an ambitious Public Sector Productivity Programme, which will reduce costs across government by changing the way we deliver public services, cutting down waste and reducing the amount of time spent on administrative tasks.

High Income Child Benefit Tax Charge

Martyn Day: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2023 to Question 543 on High Income Child Benefit Tax Charge, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of trends in the level of tax revenue received from the High Income Child Benefit Tax Charge since 2020-21.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government believes in having a fair taxation system which allows individuals to keep more of what they earn. The Government also needs to manage the public finances in a disciplined and responsible way in order to protect our vital public services. In 2020-2021 (the latest year that data is available), 99.7% of those liable for the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) paid income tax at the higher rate or above, and 88% of Child Benefit claimants were unaffected by the HICBC. The Government therefore currently considers that maintaining the threshold remains appropriate, but will keep this threshold under review in line with all other tax policy.

Off-payroll Working: Taxation

Chris Stephens: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure umbrella companies comply with legislation on the deduction of employers’ taxes from contractors’ pay.

Nigel Huddleston: Like all employers, umbrella companies are responsible for paying employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) where they are due. Employers cannot, by law, deduct employer NICs from an employee's gross pay. The payment of employer NICs out of the umbrella company’s fee may be shown on the same payslip as deductions, such as Income Tax, from the employee’s gross pay, meaning that it can look as if an individual is paying the employer NICs, when this is not actually the case.All agency workers must be given a Key Information Document by an agency before agreeing terms, including when the agency worker is engaged through an umbrella company. Key Information Documents set out details about the engagement, including rates of pay. This allows workers to see how deductions and fees are made through the labour supply chain and how this affects their gross pay and net pay.When set up and operated correctly, umbrella companies comply with tax and NICs legislation. Umbrella company employees who believe that an umbrella company is not complying with its tax or NICs obligations can report it to HM Revenue and Customs:www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/report-fraud-to-hmrc

Revenue and Customs: Staff

Chris Stephens: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many full-time equivalent staff work in HMRC's national minimum wage compliance unit; and how many posts in that unit were unfilled as of 19 December 2023.

Nigel Huddleston: HMRC enforces the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) in line with the law and policy set out by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the NMW receives it.HMRC’s NMW compliance work is funded by DBT. The annual funding for minimum wage enforcement has doubled since 2015 (Table 1, link below) and this additional investment has enabled a significant expansion of resources dedicated to enforcing the minimum wage.https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1149618/supplementary_data_for_enforcement_and_compliance_report.xlsx(opens in a new tab)Data on the number of full-time equivalent staff (FTE) working in HMRC’s NMW team will change during the course of the year, and the final FTE position will be published as part of the Government Evidence on Enforcement and Compliance in 2024/2025.

Revenue and Customs: Staff

Chris Stephens: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many full-time equivalent staff are employed to investigate tax evasion in HMRC's Wealthy Team as of 19 December 2023.

Nigel Huddleston: I refer the hon member to the answer on 11 May 2023 to UIN 183914 Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament and the answer on 6 June 2023 to UIN 186796 Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament.For data on the full time equivalent (FTE) employees working in HMRC’s Wealthy Teams, I refer the hon member to the answer on 28 June 2023 to UIN 189356 Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament.

Tax Avoidance

Chris Stephens: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an estimate of the number of people that are required to make payments under the Loan Charge as of 19 December 2023.

Nigel Huddleston: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) estimates that there are around 40,000 individuals and around 5,000 employers who have either failed to return the Loan Charge or have returned a figure that is not correct.HMRC continues to support taxpayers to resolve their use of disguised remuneration schemes and get out of avoidance for good, including helping those who need extra support and providing additional time to pay where needed.

Rent a Room Scheme

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of the rent a room relief scheme on the supply of rooms for rent.

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many landlords have used the rent a room relief scheme in the last financial year.

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the median rental income of landlords using the rent a room relief scheme was in the last financial year.

Nigel Huddleston: Rent a room relief provides an effective incentive for people to make spare rooms available for rent. It aligns with the Government’s objectives of supporting living standards, increasing the availability of low-cost housing, giving more choice to tenants, and making it easier for people to move around the country for work. The relief also reduces and simplifies the tax and administration burden for those affected and has taken some taxpayers out of self-assessment entirely. Landlords with income up to the threshold of £7,500 from renting rooms in their own homes (or £3,750 if let jointly) and who have no other property rental income are exempt from Income Tax on this income and do not need to declare it to HMRC. Landlords with rent a room income above the threshold will declare the amount of income and pay tax on any income above the threshold. In these cases, rent a room income is amalgamated on the tax return with other property rental income in a landlord’s self-assessment return. Landlords with rent a room income below the threshold who also have other property income to declare do not have to declare how much rental income they have that falls under the scheme. Instead, they simply tick a box to indicate that they are using the scheme. HMRC publishes the estimated cost of the relief as part of its non-structural tax reliefs statistics (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs).

Poverty: Government Assistance

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide immediate additional funding to support people who are unable to pay for (a) energy, (b) food and (c) other essential items.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government recognises the challenges facing households due to elevated costs of living, so has taken further action at Autumn Statement 2023 to support vulnerable households. From 1 April 2024, the National Living Wage will increase by 9.8% for 2.7 million low paid workers. Local Housing Allowance rates will rise to the 30th percentile of local market rents in April 2024 for 1.6 million households. The Government will also uprate all working age benefits in full by September 2023 CPI of 6.7%, benefitting 5.5 million households in 2024-25. This brings the total support over 2022-2025 to help households with the high cost of living to £104 billion – an average of £3,700 per UK household.

Home Office

Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 18 October 2023 to Question 200418 on Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry, when he plans to update Parliament on progress in implementing the recommendations in the Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, HC 720, published in October 2022.

Laura Farris: The Government is driving forward work to deliver on the recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse including by committing to introduce a new mandatory reporting duty in the Criminal Justice Bill, passing the Online Safety Act, and consulting on changes to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. The Home Secretary will provide a full update to Parliament on progress against all of the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse early in the new year.

Prime Minister

Climate Change

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Prime Minister, on what occasions he has been briefed on climate science by the Chief Scientist in 2023.

Rishi Sunak: I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 16 February 2022, Official Report, PQ 120718.

Department for Transport

Roads: Accidents

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to tackle the number of road accidents involving cats.

Guy Opperman: A focus for this Government is to make roads safer for all users, which will in turn reduce the risk to all animals.Rule 286 of The Highway Code advises drivers to report any collisions involving an animal to the police, and if possible, they should make enquiries to ascertain the owner of domestic animals and advise them of the situation.

Roads: Safety

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Government announces new long-term plan to back drivers, published on 29 September 2023, if his Department will publish its assessment of the impact of speeding on road safety.

Guy Opperman: All available research shows a link between excessive speed and the risk of collisions.

British Transport Police

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of police officers make up the British Transport Police.

Huw Merriman: As of January 2024, there are 5253 BTP staff. This is made up of 3118 police officers, 1692 police staff, 199 Police Community Support Officers and 244 special constables. This means that 59.3% of all police staff are officers. Police workforce data is published annually by the Home Office and is available on gov.uk.

Bus Services: Tickets

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 8 February 2023 to Question 139277 on Public Transport: Tickets, whether he plans to reintroduce the PlusBus (a) day and (b) season ticket on (i) the Key Card and (ii) other forms of electronic ticketing.

Guy Opperman: PlusBus is a multimodal ticket offer provided by the Rail Delivery Group, and train operating companies, in conjunction with Traveline Information Ltd and bus operators. I would certainly encourage all parties involved to look at ways they might further develop, and enhance, the offer to passengers, coupled with more options for how and where such PlusBus tickets are retailed.

Cycling: Safety

Keir Mather: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to encourage safer cycling at night-time in (a) Selby and Ainsty constituency, (b) rural communities and (c) nationally.

Guy Opperman: The Government is investing over £3 billion in active travel over this Parliament, including high quality cycle infrastructure and cycle training opportunities. The safety of vulnerable road users is a priority for the Government, and the Department is determined to make the roads safer for everyone. North Yorkshire has been allocated over £1.1 million capital funding through the Active Travel Fund over the last three years, and over £428,463 of revenue funding. This funding supports not only the provision of safe cycle infrastructure but also activities including cycle training. The Highway Code sets out a number of requirements for cycling at night, including that cyclists must use lights, as well as providing advice on matters such as reflective clothing and accessories. Enforcement of these matters is the responsibility of the police.

Restoring Your Railway Fund

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the successful bids to the Restoring Your Railway Fund as of 19 December 2023.

Huw Merriman: Under the Network North announcement, the Department confirmed that a further 11 RYR-originated schemes will progress to delivery, subject to successful business cases. We are in the early stages of planning next steps, including delivery timelines, for these schemes and are working closely with Network Rail and other delivery partners to develop and deliver on these Government priorities.There are a number of RYR schemes awaiting feedback on next steps. The Department hopes to be able to provide further details in due course.

Department for Transport: Local Government Finance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much and what proportion of his Department's capital grants to local authorities have been spent on internal (a) administration and (b) other management costs in each financial year since 2015-16.

Anthony Browne: In line with the guidance issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, capital grants to local authorities are non-ringfenced, and not subject to any restrictions on how local authorities spend the grant money. However, to ensure capital grants are spent on delivering the schemes for which they are intended, my department requires a declaration to be made by the recipient local authorities that the conditions of each grant have been complied with.

Midland Metro

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to provide funding for the Birmingham Eastside metro extension through the Network North plan.

Huw Merriman: The Birmingham Eastside metro extension is the responsibility of the West Midlands Combined Authority, which will receive over £1bn extra funding as a result of Network North.

Blue Badge Scheme

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will update the assessment criteria for blue badge parking permit qualifications to cover people with degenerative medical conditions.

Guy Opperman: Applications to the Blue Badge scheme are not dependent upon condition but are based on the need of the applicant to park closer to their destination. People with degenerative medical conditions could receive a badge if they meet the eligibility criteria. It is for the relevant local authority to decide if an applicant is eligible for a Blue Badge. The Department has no plans to change the eligibility criteria.

Manchester Airport: Passengers

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of (a) outbound and (b) inbound passenger numbers at Manchester Airport in each of the next three years.

Anthony Browne: Airport level passenger demand forecasts last published by the Department are available at UK aviation forecasts 2017 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). However, given the COVID-19 pandemic occurred after these forecasts were produced, the Department would not recommend their use in the near term. The Department is currently preparing to produce and publish new passenger demand forecasts in 2024.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Bullying and Harassment

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 22 of JSP 763 Behaviours and informal complaint resolution Part 1: Directive – understanding behaviours in Defence, how many climate assessments were triggered by a high number of calls to helplines in each year since 2019.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 22 of JSP 763 Behaviours and informal complaint resolution Part 1: Directive – understanding behaviours in Defence, how many climate assessments were triggered by a high number of personnel (a) on sick leave and (b) medically downgraded in each year since 2019.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 22 of JSP 763 Behaviours and informal complaint resolution Part 1: Directive – understanding behaviours in Defence, how many climate assessments were triggered by a high number of formal complaints in each year since 2019.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 22 of JSP 763 Behaviours and informal complaint resolution Part 1: Directive – understanding behaviours in Defence, how many climate assessments were triggered by a high number of informal complaints in each year since 2019.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 22 of JSP 763 Behaviours and informal complaint resolution Part 1: Directive – understanding behaviours in Defence, how many climate assessments were triggered by a high number of personnel citing (a) bullying, (b) harassment and (c) discrimination as a reason for leaving in exit data in each year since 2019.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 22 of JSP 763 Behaviours and informal complaint resolution Part 1: Directive – understanding behaviours in Defence, how many climate assessments were triggered by concerning findings from a level 1 climate assessment in each year since 2019.

Dr Andrew Murrison: It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the right hon. Member’s Questions. I will write to her when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

Ministry of Defence: Bullying and Harassment

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 20 of JSP 763 entitled Behaviours and informal complaint resolution Part 1 (Directive), how many incidents have been recorded by Lead D&I(As) in each month since January 2020.

Dr Andrew Murrison: It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the right hon. Member’s Question. I will write to her when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

Ministry of Defence: Equality

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 4.8 of JSP 763 Behaviours and informal complaint resolution Part 1: Directive – understanding behaviours in Defence, published in June 2021, how many and what proportion of diversity and inclusion (a) advisers and (b) practitioners in his Department have not fully completed their training by the Defence Academy as of 19 December 2023.

Dr Andrew Murrison: None. Delegates who do not complete their training cannot become D&I Advisors or Practitioners.

Reserve Forces: Recruitment

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average time was for an applicant to complete the recruitment process for the Reserves in the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) RAF in each year since 2015.

Dr Andrew Murrison: It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the right hon. Member’s Questions. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average time was for an applicant to complete the recruitment process for the regular (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) RAF in each year since 2015.

Dr Andrew Murrison: It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the right hon. Member’s Question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

Military Decorations

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a medal for people who served in the armed forces during the Cold War.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Medallic recognition for general service during the Cold War was considered by Sir John Holmes as part of his review of Military Medals in 2012. The Review did not recommend that a Cold War medal should be introduced. The Ministry of Defence has no plans to recommend that consideration be given to the award of a medal for general service during the Cold War. Cases regarding historic medallic recognition are a matter for the independent Advisory Military Sub-Committee.

Ministry of Defence: Bullying and Harassment

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people reported (a) bullying, (b) harassment and (c) discrimination as a reason for leaving his Department in exit data in each of the last five years.

Dr Andrew Murrison: It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the right hon. Member's Question. I will write to her when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

Ajax Vehicles: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the most recent (a) payment schedule and (b) milestones for the Ajax armoured cavalry programme.

James Cartlidge: Whilst I can confirm that a revised payment schedule and milestone plan is in place for the Armoured Cavalry Programme, I am unable to publish the details of this plan as this may prejudice the Ministry of Defence's commercial interests.

Armed Forces: Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2023 to Question 6086 on Armed Forces: Housing, what the grades are of each of the 9,121 unoccupied service family accommodation units.

James Cartlidge: The Ministry of Defence does not use a grading system for Service Family Accommodation (SFA). SFA are assessed against the Government’s Decent Homes (DH) Standard, defined by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and this is the minimum satisfactory standard for allocation of a home to a Service family. As of 1 December 2023, 96.11% of SFA was assessed as meeting or exceeding DH Standard. Any homes below this standard should not be allocated to families.

Department for Work and Pensions

National Insurance

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many working-age claimants of benefits were non-UK nationals when they registered for a National Insurance number.

Jo Churchill: Statistics on the Nationality at point of National Insurance number registration of DWP working age benefit recipients are only available to November 2020. Publication of these statistics has been discontinued and to provide more recent data would incur disproportionate cost.

Department for Education

Mathematics: Primary Education

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on improving attainment in mathematics in primary schools.

Damian Hinds: Since 2010, the department has overseen a transformation in the way mathematics is taught in schools based on the best available international evidence. Reform of the mathematics curriculum and testing system was accompanied by the introduction of a national network of 40 Maths Hubs, to help local schools improve the quality of their teaching. Maths Hubs deliver the department’s Teaching for Mastery programme, which is bringing teaching practice from high performing east Asian jurisdictions to primary and secondary schools across England. The programme aims to reach 75% of primary schools by 2025. Maths Hubs also run the Mastering Number programme, which helps children in the first years of primary school master the basics of arithmetic, including number bonds and times tables. This programme will reach over 8,000 schools by 2024, and the department is expanding it into Years 4 and 5 to bolster fluency in times tables. The percentage of pupils meeting the Key Stage 2 expected standard in mathematics in the 2022/23 academic year was 73%, up from 71% in 2022. Pre-pandemic, England achieved its highest ever mathematics score in the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study international test for Year 5 pupils. Although the study was affected by the pandemic, analysis of the Programme for International Student Assessment 2022 results for 15 year olds showed that England had risen in the rankings from 17th for mathematics in 2018 to 11th in 2022. Ofsted recently found a “resounding, positive shift in primary mathematics education”. All eligible Year 4 pupils in England are required to take the Multiplication Table Check, which is an on-screen assessment testing pupils' ability to fluently recall their knowledge of multiplication tables up to 12 x 12. 29% of eligible children scored full marks in 2023, up from 27% in 2022, and the average attainment score in 2023 was 20.2, up from 19.8 in 2022.

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of allowing schools to access SEN funding outside of the statutory assessment period.

David Johnston: The department expects schools to have access to high needs funding wherever the costs of additional support for a pupil with Special Educational Needs (SEN) are in excess of £6,000 per pupil per annum. Local authorities can provide this additional SEN funding for schools in respect of pupils who are awaiting the completion of a statutory Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment, or do not otherwise have an EHC plan. Local authorities determine the circumstances in which such allocations of high needs funding are made and the amounts to allocate to schools.

Academies

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many standalone multi-academy trusts there are in each local authority area; and if she will make a comparative assessment of the effectiveness of multi-academy trusts that (a) are standalone and (b) have a number of schools.

Damian Hinds: In December 2023, there were 1,000 Single Academy Trusts (SATs) running one school compared to 1,321 Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) running more than one school, which accounts for 9,603 academies and free schools in total in MATs. A full breakdown of the number of SATs in each local authority and more information is available here: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Downloads.In terms of assessing effectiveness, a direct performance comparison between SATs and MATs is not possible because many good and outstanding schools converted as SATs and some remain as such. Schools that underperformed as local authority maintained schools are typically transferred into MATs as sponsored academies.The department believes that the best way to improve school standards is for all schools to be in strong families of schools, benefitting from the support of the best in the group and the resilience that comes from being part of a larger group of schools. Over time, the department would like all schools to be in a strong multi-academy trust because of the positive impact it can have on children’s lives. The department aims to have the vast majority of schools in trusts before 2030.

Children in Care: Ethnic Groups

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to develop a black foster care network to improve the experiences of Black children in care.

David Johnston: The government would like to see people from all backgrounds feel able to come forward to foster, whatever their ethnicity, sexuality, gender or relationship status. Children should be cared for in a way that recognises and respects their identity. Carers should be given the training and support they need to meet the child’s needs. The department will engage with foster carer representative bodies to see how the department can further support black foster carers, including considering developing a black foster care network. The department is investing over £36 million this parliament to deliver a fostering recruitment and retention programme, so that foster care is available for more children who need it. This will boost approvals of foster carers, as well as taking steps to retain the foster carers we have. Greater financial support for foster carers will help improve the experiences of all children in care. For the second year running, the department is uplifting the national minimum allowance (NMA) above the rate of inflation. For 2024/2025, the NMA will increase by 6.88%. This is on top of a 12.43% NMA increase in 2023/24. In addition, the department estimates that changes to tax and benefit allowances will give the average foster carer an additional £450 per year, as well as simplifying the process for self-assessment returns for most foster carers. The department will also build on its investment since 2014 of over £8 million to help embed the Mockingbird programme, which is an innovative model of peer support for foster parents and the children in their care where children benefit from an extended family environment.

Pupils: LGBT+ People

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an estimate of the proportion of pupils identifying as LGBTQ+ who have been bullied in the last 12 months.

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of schools on the mental health of young people identifying as LGBTQ+.

Damian Hinds: The department has not made a specific assessment of the potential impact of schools on the mental health of LGBTQ+ young people, but the department is aware that bullying in school can have a profound effect on a child’s mental health and collect regular information. To support schools, the department is providing over £3 million of funding, between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2024, to five anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying. This includes projects targeting bullying of particular groups, such as those who are victims of hate related bullying and homophobic, bi-phobic and transphobic based bullying. The department is taking actions to tackle bullying as part of the commitment to ensuring schools are safe, supportive, inclusive environments where all pupils feel they belong. The department’s programme of senior mental health lead training is further supporting schools to promote the mental health and wellbeing of all pupils through effective whole-school approaches. This approach should include creating an environment that promotes respect and values diversity, having robust processes for identifying individuals or groups of pupils in need of further support, and ensuring all staff can recognise and understand how to respond to mental health concerns. The department has committed to offer all schools and colleges funding to train a senior mental health lead by 2025. Over 14,000 settings, including more than 7 in 10 state secondary schools, have taken up the offer so far.

Children in Care: Ethnic Groups

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to work with local authorities to reduce rates of criminalisation of black children in the care system.

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report by Barnardo's entitled Double discrimination: Black care-experienced young adults navigating the criminal justice system, published in September 2023.

David Johnston: The department recognises that children in care are more likely than their peers in the general population to have contact with the criminal justice system. In 2018, the department published a joint national protocol with the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on reducing the unnecessary criminalisation of looked after children and care leavers, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-protocol-on-reducing-criminalisation-of-looked-after-children. Since the publication of the protocol, the proportion of children in care aged 10 to 17 who are charged with an offence or receive a caution has reduced from 3% in 2019 to 2% in 2023. The latest data for the year ending in March 2023 also shows that 3% of care leavers age 19 to 21 were in custody. This figure has remained the same for the last 5 years. The department is also taking action on risk factors that can lead to criminal behaviour, including through its work to improve school attendance. Through the care leaver Ministerial Board, the department is working closely with MoJ to improve the support for and outcomes of care-experienced people in the criminal justice system. MoJ is currently updating its strategy for people with care experience in the criminal justice system, to ensure that their time in the criminal justice system is used to support them to lead crime-free lives. The strategy will include a focus on race and its role in shaping the experiences and outcomes of those with care experience and will link to wider departmental efforts to address racial disproportionality in the criminal justice system. The MoJ are aiming to publish this strategy in 2024.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Local Plans: St Albans

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has had correspondence with St Albans City and District Council on its timetable for completing its local plan.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will provide additional funding for the St Albans City & District Council Local Plan to be expedited.

Lee Rowley: The Secretary of State wrote to St Albans City and District Council on 19 December 2023 to direct they produce a revised Local Development Scheme and a copy of the letter can be found here.St Albans City and District Council is one of only 12 local planning authorities who have not published a local plan under the 2004 Act; their last adopted plan was in 1994. This is unacceptable and St Albans City and District Council are ultimately responsible for this.Should St Albans City and District Council need to prioritise its finite resources it might choose to cease unconscious bias training (something stopped by central government several years ago) or the unnecessary equality, diversity and inclusion work that is underway.

Planning Permission: Urban Areas

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to The Minister for Housing, Planning and Building Safety's oral statement on Long-term Plan for Housing on 19 December 2023, Official report, whether he plans to take steps to ensure the urban uplift within the National Planning Policy Framework meets the housing needs of each urban area.

Lee Rowley: To support the effective and efficient use of land and densification within our towns and cities the standard method urban uplift increases local housing need in our 20 most populated urban areas by 35%. The uplift is designed to ensure that the standard method is consistent with our aim to deliver 300,000 homes a year. It also helps maximise use of existing infrastructure and our wider objectives of regenerating brownfield sites, renewal and levelling up.The revised National Planning Policy Framework (December 2023) is clear that where the urban uplift applies it should be met by those cities and urban centres concerned rather than exported to surrounding areas, except where there is voluntary cross-boundary agreement to do so, or where this would conflict with other policies in the Framework.

Right to Buy Scheme

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many properties were sold through Right to Buy in each of the core cities in each of the last 10 years.

Lee Rowley: Official statistics on the number of Right to Buy sales are published annually. The official statistics can be found on Gov.uk in Live Table 691b available at the following link.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Local Government Finance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much and what proportion of his Department's capital grants to local authorities have been spent on internal (a) administration and (b) other management costs in each financial year since 2015-16.

Simon Hoare: The information requested is not held centrally.

Housing: Planning

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the National Planning Policy Framework updated on 19 December 2023, if he will publish additional guidance for (a) local authorities and (b) the Planning Inspectorate on balancing considerations relating to (i) green belt boundaries and (ii) housing targets when determining planning (A) applications and (B) appeals in the context of the standard method formula.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 19 December 2023, what his Department's policy is on whether local authorities who are in the process of developing a local plan (a) can and (b) should exclude some sites identified for housing development which are in the green belt.

Lee Rowley: Further to the published information set out in the National Planning Policy Framework, transitional arrangements are set out in Annex 1 to the Framework. Government will consider whether updates are needed to planning practice guidance in due course. I refer the Hon Member to the written statement of 19 December 2023 (HCWS161).

Cabinet Office

Civil Service: Security

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much has been spent on the development of GovPass as of 19 December 2023.

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his planned timetable is for the rollout of GovPass to all civil servants.

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of GovPass.

John Glen: The GovPass project is rationalising the provision of security passes across the government estate; it will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of these arrangements, including in support of interoperability as departments increasingly share space. GovPass has been developed in conjunction with the national technical authorities and the Government Property Agency. Business cases for the project have been taken through appropriate governance, and deployment is being managed incrementally to ensure best value. It would not be appropriate to provide more detail of these protective security arrangements.

Cabinet Office: Security

Sarah Olney: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many security passes for his Department have been reported as (a) missing and (b) stolen in the last 12 months.

Alex Burghart: The Government takes the protection of information extremely seriously. Departments are required to have robust controls in place to manage risk to their assets including data and mobile devices.The departmental security unit records and considers whether an investigation is appropriate for each reported loss from the Department.Any security pass reported as lost is immediately deactivated.

Department for Business and Trade

Department for Business and Trade: Local Government Finance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much and what proportion of her Department's capital grants to local authorities have been spent on internal (a) administration and (b) other management costs in each financial year since 2015-16.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Department provided local authorities with funding to offer emergency support to eligible businesses in their areas during the Covid-19 pandemic. This support covered the 2020-22 period with £26bn of grant support funding provided. Local authorities were provided with New Burdens payments totalling £210 million to cover the costs of delivering this support as well as post payment reconciliation and any required recovery activity. This equates to less than one per cent of the grant award payments paid to businesses. A breakdown of payments made is provided in the table below: Financial YearAmount paid to Local Authorities (£millions)Cumulative Total (£millions)2020-202172722021-20221271992022-202311210

Northern Ireland Office

Irish Language

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he plans to bring forward the commencement orders for Section 4 of the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022.

Mr Steve Baker: The planned repeal of the Administration of Justice (Language) Act (Ireland 1737) is one of many steps in the Identity & Language legislation that will affirm the need to respect the freedom of all persons in Northern Ireland to choose, maintain and develop their national and cultural identity. The Government is carefully considering its next steps on implementation, including the remaining commencement orders and will provide an update to Parliament in due course.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Solar Power: Supply Chains

Sir Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the China Strategic Risks Institute's report on Building a Green, Fair and Resilient Solar Supply Chain, published on 24 November 2023.

Andrew Bowie: The Solar Taskforce is considering wide-ranging actions needed to develop resilient, sustainable and innovative supply chains. This work will inform the Government’s Solar Roadmap setting out the trajectory and actions needed to deploy up to 70GW by 2035. The Government already encourages developers to grow sustainable supply chains through the Supply Chain Plan process included in the Contracts for Difference scheme. The Government also supports innovation in supply chains through the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund and initiatives funded by UK Research and Innovation.

Oil: Refineries

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery on the labour market in Scotland.

Andrew Bowie: The owners of Grangemouth refinery noted that refining operations will continue until at least Q2 2025. My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State met their CEO in November to discuss this transition, the future of the site and seek assurances on their continued support for their employees. In the meantime, The Falkirk Growth Deal, supported by the UK and Scottish Governments, has a firm focus on the themes of Innovative Industry and Great Places. It will see £40m invested by the UK government in projects that will create new high-value jobs for the future.

Energy: Prices

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of trends in the level of imported energy on the cost of energy for (a) domestic and (b) business customers in the last five years.

Graham Stuart: The main driver of trends in energy prices for domestic and business customers over the last 5 years has been movements in international gas prices, which determine the amounts charged for both domestically produced and imported gas. The Department publishes data on the UK's overall net imports, with separate data on imports of gas and other energy products, alongside energy prices. Developing more home-grown sources of energy supply – including renewables – will help reduce the exposure of UK energy prices to volatile international markets.

Energy Supply

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the UK’s oil refinery capacity for meeting demand for domestic energy.

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of oil refinery capacity for energy security.

Andrew Bowie: The UK is a significant producer of both crude oil and petroleum products, and UK demand is met through a combination of domestic production and imports from a diverse range of suppliers. The UK is already a net importer of refined oil products, and we both import and export all major products. The drive to reduce carbon emissions towards Net Zero will inevitably reduce the demand for fuels over the coming decades. The oil product market is a liquid and widely traded market, meaning the UK will continue to meet its needs for refined oil products from a flexible and diverse range of sources.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Gambling: Taxation

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her Department's consultation on the statutory levy on gambling operators, published on 17 October 2023, for what reason the proposed statutory levy rate for remote pools betting was set at 1%.

Stuart Andrew: Higher rates of problem gambling are associated with certain products, particularly those online, compared to most land-based products. We want to take this into account in the design of the statutory levy, as well as the higher operating costs in the land-based sector. Public Health England’s evidence review of gambling-related harms, based on Health Survey data, showed football pools to have a 'problem gambling' rate of 5%, which is higher than the population level which has been at or below 1% for the past 20 years.The consultation on the design of the statutory levy opened on 17 October and has now closed. Our consultation specifically invited views on the question of levy rates so that the Government has the best available evidence to inform our final policy decisions on the structure of the levy. The Government is carefully considering the evidence received, and we will publish our response to the consultation in due course.

Football: Finance

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Premier League on its financial fair play rules; and what assessment she has made as to whether future legislation should include penalties for breaching financial fair play rules.

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the independent regulator should have jurisdiction over (a) breaches alleged by the Guardian by the previous owner of Chelsea Roman Abramovitch and (b) other breaches of the financial fair play rules.

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to give the Football Regulator the (a) powers and (b) resources to regulate clubs to ensure any breaches of financial fair play rules are (i) identified and (ii) punished.

Stuart Andrew: The Premier League’s financial fair play rules are a matter for the Premier League and will not be will not be covered by the Football Regulator, which will have a tightly defined scope around ensuring financial sustainability. The Football Regulator will not involve itself in sporting matters or league rules, recognising the Government’s long standing respect for the autonomy of sport.